


It's Always Better When We're Together.

by brooklynbis



Series: how finnick and annie came to be. [2]
Category: Hunger Games Series - All Media Types, Hunger Games Trilogy - Suzanne Collins, The Hunger Games (Movies)
Genre: Annie needs a hug, Anxiety, Depression, District Thirteen, Established Relationship, F/M, Hunger Games-Typical Death/Violence, Hurt/Comfort, Manipulation, Mental Health Issues, Mockingjay, Odesta, Panic Attacks, The Capitol, basically that one scene when Annie and Finnick see each other again in mockingjay, finnick is an amazing boyfriend, finnick odair needs a hug, gale is also great tbf, he doesn't die in this lmao, the hospital one yanno
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-02
Updated: 2019-03-02
Packaged: 2019-11-08 03:23:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,056
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17973551
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/brooklynbis/pseuds/brooklynbis
Summary: Annie wasn't sure how long she had been in the Capitol. She barely remembered her time there, only flashes of memories. Many different people with different coloured hair, and hands, hands everywhere.The thing she remembered most vividly, was the audio. Finnick screaming for her. They had told her he was dead, he was never coming back, not to save her, not to rescue her, not to love her."Annie, we're going to take you back to Finnick, it's alright."_____________________________AKA Annie gets rescued from the Capitol with Johanna and Peeta, and she and Finnick are finally reunited.





	It's Always Better When We're Together.

**Author's Note:**

> (I swear I never intend for them to be this long) this is based off that one hospital scene in Mockingjay (which I haven't watched for a while tbf) but it's based off that one 20 second clip of them being reunited in the hospital. 
> 
> trigger warnings : panic attacks, crying (a lot of it) (idk if that's a trigger but better to be safe), anxiety and depression, mentions of torture, rape, kidnapping type thing and manipulation (basically the usual angsty crap that comes into my fics)  
> title from 'better together' by Jack Johnson 
> 
> comments, feedback and kudos would be appreciated if you enjoyed, plus any prompts which you can leave in the comments or in my tumblr ask box @/brooklynbis

Annie wasn't sure how long she had been in the Capitol. She barely remembered her time there, only flashes of memories. Many different people with different coloured hair, and hands, hands everywhere. She remembers them taking her from their house in the victor's village, whilst she was sleeping. The one night she had slept without a nightmare of Finnick being killed in the games and she woke up in a Capitol hospital deep underground. 

She remembers snow being given money by those people, remembers never being given clothes, always cold, always, not the pleasant cold like the ocean gave her, but a threatening cold, harsh and bitter. Everything was white, the people and the bruises were the only things that were coloured. It hurt to breathe, but they didn't care. Often, there was the shocking red of blood, but she never recalled where it was stemming from. 

Then, hands. More hands. But these ones were warm, tough, not like the greatly cared for hands of the Capitolites. There was no colour either, just black and white, and it brought an odd sense of comfort. The silence she had adjusted to was smashed to pieces by these hands, and she couldn't control her response, eyes widening even more than they already were, thrashing away from the hands, knowing they were only there to hurt her, just like everyone else. 

The thing she remembered most vividly, was the audio. Finnick screaming for her, for her to help him, the sound of his screams as they hurt him but kept her restrained. They had told her he was dead, he was never coming back, not to save her, not to rescue her, not to love her. 

"Annie, we're going to take you back to Finnick, it's alright."

She couldn't remember what she heard after that, only remembering screaming at them that they were lying, because Finnick was dead, and she was tired of the mind games. It was cruel, because she loved him so much and they were taunting her with what she had lost. 

That hurt more than anything else. 

Then, darkness as the world slowly faded around her. 

_____________

She woke up again in a darkened room, with a small hum thrumming beneath her feet. She quickly tucked her feet underneath her, bringing her knees to her chest, trying to make herself as small as possible. This was a trick, and maybe she could hide if she were small enough, then they couldn't hurt her again. 

As she looked around frantically, she made eye contact with a dark pair of eyes, looking like they were staring into her soul, so much like the Capitolites which insisted she look at them whilst she gave them her services, forced or not. They would only hurt Finnick (and her) if she didn't. 

Seeing her breathing speed up upon eye contact, he was quick to raise a hand, making her flinch despite the few feet distance and a table separating them. 

"...Okay, I'm not going to hurt you... Finnick.." she heard in bits and pieces, her lip trembling at the mention of her dead lover, gripping the sheets around her like her life depended on it. 

"F-Finnick' s dead," she mumbled, but somehow this stranger in all black clothing made out what she was saying. 

"No he's not, it's just their mind games... Alive, in thirteen... Safe together..." 

She just kept mumbling 'Finnick's dead' over and over as she got lost in her head, the audios playing on repeat. 

"...Sent me earlier..." she briefly heard before she snapped back into reality. He was speaking. He was saying how much he loved her, and how much he couldn't wait to see her, and how sorry he was. 

"How do I know it's from today?" she muttered, not trusting anything or anyone, let alone this complete stranger who was trying to disprove everything she had been told for however long. A lifetime's worth perhaps. 

"If you'll let me a bit closer, I can show you the date and time," he offered, and after a few moments consideration she nodded, huddling further into the sheets and the corner of the bed, but he didn't seem to mind as he walked a bit closer, knelt on the floor beside the bed and held the phone out to her. He could see the wonder in her eyes, the confusion as her eyebrows furrowed together, a frown on her face. 

"They... There was audio... He died..." she mumbled as he sighed, running a hand through his dark hair which matched his uniform. 

"Annie, that wasn't real. I promise you now, Finnick is alive."

"What's your name?" Annie asked as she trembled slightly in the corner of the bed, not wanting to move in case he hurt her. She couldn't get over the fact that she wasn't naked. 

"Gale. Katniss' friend," he offered a hand which she quickly shook her head to. 

"Finnick told me about her," she said quietly as Gale nodded. 

"He did well to get her out of that arena." he commented, avoiding eye contact wit the terrified girl, unsure weather it triggered her in any way. Judging by her bad response last time, he took and educated guess and said yes. 

"He's nice," Annie said with a ghost of a smile on her face at the thought of him, of the last time she saw him, filled with tears and promises of surviving and kisses like they'd never let go. 

"Yeah, he is." 

________________

Everything was too bright. Everything was white, and there was commotion as her and two others were brought into this big, white expanse, and it reminded her too much of the Capitol, of when she first woke there. She couldn't see any familiar faces, even Gale had left. Everyone was poking and prodding and touching her as needles were inserted, cuffs put around her arms that made her feel like she was suffocating, like back in the arena, like when one of the Capitolites would like her silent. Hands were trying to remove the coverings she had, making her lash out at them furiously, not wanting to be hurt again, Gale promised she would be safe. 

They wouldn't stop, despite her pleas, so she gave up, succumbing to silence. No point wasting her breath if they weren't going to listen, when she didn't have enough breath anyway, hadn't since Finnick had left, never had enough breath, never would have enough breath again - 

And then it was like the whole world stopped. The doors banged open, but Annie didn't hear them as the impossible became possible. He walked through those doors, eyes searching the room and she could faintly hear herself scream his name, ripping the cuff and needles from her arms, batting them off with a newfound determination that could only be fuelled by him, and her desperation. 

His head snapped, and he spotted her and suddenly she was in his arms, finally, as she gripped at his neck and his hair and his head, not quite believing it, believing her head was playing games again, that this was just the Capitol, lulling her into happiness and then brutally ripping it away as they had done so many times. 

"I've got you," he whispered, resting his forehead against hers, as she closed her eyes, trying to focus on her breathing and not the dam of feelings that was so close to breaking. He could feel it in her grip, tighter than anything else as he slowly carried her back to the bed she had leaped off, where the nurses were waiting to continue doing their jobs. She didn't even notice until he gently set her down and went to move away, when her eyes snapped open with a wild sense of panic, grabbing his arm tightly. 

"Don't leave," she said quietly, desperately as he nodded quickly. 

"Of course not," he said, sitting on the bed beside her, deciding the nurses could work around him. It had been so long, they couldn't suggest to him to move away. They didn't appear to mind when they realised it meant Annie would keep still, calmer and making it easier for them to do their job as long as his hand was firmly in hers. 

______________

Once the nurses were satisfied that she was all hooked up to IV's well enough, and they cleared off, Finnick looked at her, seeing she wasn't fully with him since the nurses had begun prodding and poking her again. 

Annie had tuned out, become unaware of all the hands touching her. She knew it would trigger her, so she easily drifted off into her mind, having done so many times before. She thought of Finnick, and avoided all thoughts of the Capitol, and she thought of Finnick and Finnick and the ocean and Finnick - 

"Annie, love?" she snapped, suddenly moving her head until she noticed Finnick in front of her, crouched down in front of her to get her attention again. 

"Hmm?" she murmured, not actually opening her mouth, as he smiled at her slightly, as she felt the relief seep through her bones. He wasn't mad at her. He wasn't annoyed that she had been so weak and so easily defeated. He wasn't disappointed that she didn't fight more, that she put herself in danger by falling asleep again. 

"Hey, don't slip away again. You're here, with me, it's alright," he said, squeezing her hand to stop her drifting away again. 

"Katniss said she had been looking into ways to help Peeta, and she found some questions that help to ground people. Did you wanna try it?" he offered, as she shrugged and looked away from him, not wanting to make eye contact. She would see his expectations then, and against her own will, he would morph into a Capitolite and there was nothing she could do about it. 

"Yeah?" he asked, pulling up a chair and sitting down in front of her as she sighed and nodded slightly. 

"Okay, who are you?" 

She took a while to answer, but Finnick appeared to have all the time in the world for her. "Annie Cresta, victor of the 70th hunger games," she said simply as he nodded, rubbing his thumb over her knuckles in a comforting way. 

"Yeah, that's good. And who am I?" he asked, as she looked at him with the ghost of a smile.

"Finnick Odair, winner of the 65th hunger games, the strongest man I know and the man I love," she said without stuttering. Through this entire haze, he was the one thing who never blurred or faded, and her love for him would never fade. She blinked and saw he had a bashful blush on his tanned cheeks, and a smile as he looked down before looking back up at her. 

"And I love you too," he said, leaning up to press a kiss to her cold cheeks, making her also blush. 

"And where are we?" 

She struggled to answer that one, with the dark boy's answer and name fading from her mind quickly. She began to panic when she couldn't remember, scared she would be punished for not being able to answer. She quickly felt a warm hand press to her cheek, bringing her back to the here and now. 

"Shh, breathe Annie, in and out," he encouraged, as she closed her eyes and leant her head into his hand, letting the warmth of his touch bring her back. 

"I don't remember, I'm so sorry Finnick, I'm sorry-" 

"Hey, that's alright. We're in thirteen, underground," he reminded her as she nodded, still not opening her eyes. 

"And are we safe?" he asked and she quickly shook her head, opening her eyes again as he looked at her with a sad look on his face. 

"I promise you, we are safe. I'm not gonna let anything happen to you again, alright?" he said to her, trying to meet her eyes so she knew she could trust him, but she wouldn't let him. When he moved in for a hug, that's when she freaked. She ripped her hands out of his and pushed him away violently, probably pulling out some needles in the process. As soon as she could, she pressed her hands tightly over her ears, and she might be screaming? She doesn't really know, but she does know she's back in that white room, and there are hands everywhere, everywhere she doesn't want them, everywhere only Finnick should touch and she's screaming and they won't stop. 

"Don't do that, it'll take even longer for her to trust us!" 

Darkness. 

_______________________

It takes a few days before Annie is allowed to leave the district hospital. She spends a lot of it asleep or sedated because she became too 'crazy'. When she is awake, she's aware of Finnick somewhere in the room. She doesn't want to face him though - she hurt him, and she'd never forgive herself for that. 

Once she is physically well enough, the hospital don't keep her there any longer. She only finds this out through Finnick though. 

"You're allowed to leave if you want," he suggests from the chair where he is sat next to her, loosely holding her hand so she can take it away again at any time. She just nods to show she's acknowledged what he said, not moving her eyes from the white ceiling above her. 

"I'm not mad at you Annie, whatever you might be thinking." he sighed, rubbing his other hand over his temples. 

"You should be." he struggled to hear that, with her mumbling so quiet. 

"No, Annie. I overstepped a boundary and you reacted, it's okay. I don't blame you, but I want to help you," he replied, as she sighed. 

"I don't wanna talk about it yet," she said adamantly, finally looking at him as he offered a smile. 

"You don't have to, just let me help you please," he asked, as she nodded and a comfortable silence fell over them for a few minutes. 

"Are there any clothes I can wear?" she asked quietly, catching Finnick's attention as he nodded. 

"I'll go see what I can find my love," he said, standing up and pressing a soft kiss to her lips before leaving the room. The beeping of the machines had stopped, so she was left alone in silence. She didn't particularly mind, and instead started to hum the tune to a song to fill the silence. When Finnick walked back into the room and heard her humming, he had a big smile on his face, one of love and adoration. 

"They might be a bit big because they're Katniss' but they should do I think," he said, handing her a pile of clothes which were all of a similar colour. She couldn't say she cared too much, knowing that too many bright colours would remind her of before. 

Finnick willingly left the room whilst she changed, and the clothes fit for the most part, if a bit baggy. She rolled the jeans up and other than that, she was alright. Finnick had forgotten to get shoes, but she didn't seem to care too much. 

She opened the door carefully, and silently, and watched Finnick leaning against the wall for a minute before he noticed her. He had his eyes closed delicately, his hair messy and curly. His jacket had clearly been altered to fit him, since he had been here for however long she was in the Capitol. 

"How long has it been?" she asked, catching his attention as his eyes snapped open and he pushed himself off the wall when he noticed she was done. 

"Since what my love?" 

"The games. Since I was gone." 

"Three months," he said with a sigh, walking towards her and grabbing her hand. 

"Did you want to go back to my room? They moved us, but we have bunk beds because we aren't married," he sighed, as she nodded and let him lead her through the busy corridors, to a plain door. The room inside wasn't much better, also pretty plain and with not much in terms of decoration, but Annie couldn't bring herself to care. As long as she had Finnick, nothing else mattered to her. 

"What did you wanna do? If you wanted, we could go and see Katniss and Gale," Finnick suggested as he nudged the door closed behind him, watching her sit tentatively on the bottom bunk, looking around nervously. He knew it was something she used to do before all of this mess, but it had only gotten worse. 

She didn't answer him verbally, instead shaking her head before bringing herself to make eye contact with him. 

"Can we just... Sleep for a while?" She whispered, hesitating for a long time before saying the second part of her sentence. His gaze softened as he nodded, pulling off his boots and walking over to her, not hesitating to lie down and allow her to make herself comfortable. 

"Thank you," She whispered once she had settled, head on his chest so she could hear his heartbeat, arms wound tightly around him, leg thrown over his thigh. 

"What for, love? You never have to thank me," Finnick murmured as he tightened his hold on her, pressing a kiss to her hair gently. 

"For not forgetting about me. Or giving up on me," She said before sighing, Finnick watching as she closed her eyes slowly. 

"I'll never give up on you my angel," He whispered back to her. She fell quiet as she tried to fall asleep, Finnick's hand running up and down her back helping a great deal. 

He knew it was creepy, but he watched her as she slept for a few minutes, watched as the worry lines slowly faded from her face, making her look ten years younger. Finnick would always think she was beautiful, no matter what, but he hated seeing her so afraid of everything. 

Everything except him. 

As he fell into a peaceful sleep for the first time since she had been taken, he couldn't fight the smile that had worked its way onto his face.

He didn't want to. His girl was finally back with him, in his arms. And there was not a damn chance he was ever letting her go again.


End file.
